Chain Reaction
by UnspokenRenegade
Summary: "There's only one way to stop it… We have to bring back the Reapers." A dark tale of Shepard five years after surviving the Reaper War. A new threat emerges in the universe - One no one can stop. Willow Shepard has no choice but to step up as Commander and lead the galaxy to safety yet again.
1. Despair Vortex

CITADEL: SHEPARDS APARTMENT

"After all these years," I mutter to the man standing beside me on the balcony. His arm was wrapped around my waist and his hair was sleek and shiny. It flowed into slight waves that reached just below his ears. "They still have enough fireflies to release every month." My face erupts in a tired grin as I peer up to his golden eyes. My long, chocolate hair whipped from the artificial nightly breeze of the Citadel. I wore a casual grey t-shirt and black tracksuit pants. Kaidan wore a long sleeved jumper and long pants similar to mine.  
"I've heard there's a whole planet filled with them." Kaidan returned the smile. Our eyes reflected yellow with the thousands of fireflies fluttering above the tallest skyscrapers and weaving in between houses below. The council set these fireflies free every month in remembrance of all the soldiers and innocents that we lost in a Reaper War. These small creatures were considered sacred and beacons of hope for the universe now. I'm glad that title isn't on me anymore. Everyone would label me, 'Commander Shepard of the Alliance - The beacon of our future' in news reports and even just addressing me like that in person. Although, there were a large amount of people that called me some interesting names when they dished out their insult speeches to me. "Now." Kaidan spun me around to face him. "It's getting late." He orders me jokingly, showing me his watch that stated eleven at night.  
"But I'm not tired." I protest, standing up straight and attempting to appear awake. I guess it fails. He kisses me and pushes me gently through the open doorway leading back into the warmth of the apartment. The pristine white fireplace provided the warmth with its lit flames that were altered to appear blue, casting the room into an icy but warm look. I give in, but pace into the dimly lit kitchen. I grab a small chocolate cake incased in a container and a frozen water bottle from the fridge.  
"I thought you were saving that for a special occasion." Kaidan questioned me, lifting himself into a stool on the other side of the bench.  
"What, the water?" I joke, placing the two items on the grey bench before reaching into a drawer and acquiring a spoon. He eyes me suspiciously. "Well.." I hesitate, and then scoop a piece of the frosting with the spoon. "Maybe it _is_ a special occasion." I grin at him, his glare still prominent. This conversation is full of sarcasm.  
"Shoot." He proclaims.  
"Shoot what? You? Myself? Aliens? Been there, done that." I say with a nervous laugh. I was never good at avoiding things, even when I had nothing to avoid like now. I try to ignore his stare and look at the half eaten cake on the bench. Did I eat that much already? I put the spoon down and move the icy water bottle to the sink so it can melt.  
"You're nervous. When you're nervous, you eat, and you try to change the subject." He lists them like he's reading off a list. I hear a distant low humming sound from outside. Like the rumble of a shuttle in park, still running slightly. Kaidan gets up and grabs my hands to break me out of the silence while I listened to the off noise. "Tell me what's wrong? Please?"  
"Do you hear that?" I say sharply, glancing around.  
He lets out a sigh. "See, you're changing the subject." He steps away from me.  
"I wasn't." I hear the noise get louder, and a slight shake in the floor."But if you really must know," He awaits my answer. His expression gets agitated, but he still glares at me. "Nothing."  
I watch his face get agitated before I walk back out onto the balcony to inspect the noise. I glance up to see no fireflies at all now, and the neighborhood is eerily silent for a Friday night. I don't hear footsteps, he must be still glued to the ground in frustration.  
The shaking and rumbling of the building suddenly grew ten times worse. The glass fence around the edge of the balcony shattered, and the handle bars I was resting on fell with the shards, taking me with them. I scream as I free fall headfirst from the top floor of an eighty-two story skyscraper. The glass shards whipped past me and cut my skin as I fell faster than them. Poles and curtains flip past me from open apartment windows as I continue to fall. I try to forget about the pain or the sickness I feel, and I manage a quick glance to a large purple curtain flowing out ridiculously from a window. I go through mental steps and latch onto the fabric once I reached it, almost seconds too late. I came to a stop and hear the carnage that travelled with me smash into the ground two floors down. _I fell eighty floors. _I look down to see the only place to land was the balcony on the first floor. I notice now, that I yanked the curtain out of its restraints when I grabbed it and was just under the platform. Debris from higher levels pummeled to the ground around me. I pull myself up the curtain a few times, almost in reach of the balcony. I'm yanked in response as the fabric rips at the restraints holding it up. I fret only to hear another rumble, but this time it's an Alliance shuttle.  
"Shepard!" A familiar voice pierces the noise of loud rumbling from the building. I look over my shoulder to see Garrus reaching his arm out of the door. I shout out to him and the shuttle leans in closer to me. I feel large hands -talons - on my back and I am yanked into the safety of the shuttle, the doors sliding shut and cutting us off from the noise. I sink to my knees on the metal floor, placing my face in my hands and whimpering.  
"All good Shepard?" A hoarse voice interrupts my thoughts. I look up and see Zaeed piloting the small vessel. I nod softly to both him and the Turian.  
"Considering she fell eighty-something floors, I say she's doing pretty well. Good to see you, Shepard." Garrus added from the seats in a comical tone.  
I stand up and sigh. "Where's Kaidan?"  
"Haven't a clue." Zaeed said calmly while punching in some buttons on the controls. That doesn't answer my question, but I settle down into the co-pilot seat next to him."We're going to the Normandy docking bay."  
"Why?" I exclaimed, alarmed. I haven't seen that ship in five years.  
"We need to get off the Citadel, Shepard." Garrus hands me a data pad with a live news report streaming on the screen. 'Citadel under attack.' was the headline. I watch the feed silently. "Joker and some of the crew are already aboard, waiting for us."  
"Yeah, but it'll be one hell of a ride getting there and off the Citadel itself." Zaeed adds. He spots my confused gaze and elaborates. "We're not being attacked. Hackett said a huge black hole opened. Completely ripping the place to pieces."  
I collect my thoughts and brace myself of what's to come. "Alright. Get us there, Zaeed"

When we reach the docking bay, officers and commanders were scurrying around trying to usher citizens towards the exits. I feel the dim vibrations coming from the far wall with the ground shaking slightly too. With Zaeed and Garrus behind me, I lead us to the elevator that will take us to the Normandy. The door swiftly opens and I collide with Kaidan in my effort to get to the ship quickly.  
"Willow!" The man exclaims as he squashes me in a breathtaking hug - literally.  
"We have to go." I step over to push the buttons and we're taken up to the ship.  
The four of us pace up the inclined docking ramp and into the decontamination room of the ship. Before the door shuts, the ramp surges as it suddenly rumbles and shakes dangerously. I hear the loud hum of the engines before the Normandy shatters away from the now flailing ramp. Kaidan and Zaeed are both swept by the force and land on the ramp, sliding down involuntarily towards the elevator while the platform lifts dangerously upwards from the force of gravity behind the nearest wall. Without thinking, I leap onto the crumbling ramp and slide downwards too. The two men grab me as I reach them desperately, pulling me up into the middle of them.  
My skin glows a bright blue as I deflect a falling sheet of metal away from us. The only wall holding the ramp was starting to crack in multiple places. They both try to hoist me up to a ledge up closer to the Normandy. "Don't move." I state as I unleash my biotics again and aim the field to surround Kaidan.  
"What are you doing?" He yells at me while I try to concentrate. I _do _have the strongest biotics for a human in the galaxy, even Jack had admitted it. He starts to lose gravity before I throw him towards the ships' airlock with all my energy. I watch him latch onto a solid part of the ramp a few meters from the ship. I notice Zaeed a far way ahead of me through my hazy vision. For a moment I think I watch the mercenary falls, but he's lifted inside the Normandy instead by Samaras' biotics, who was now focusing on me. I gestured towards Kaidan in rebellion of being saved, and he needed to get on the ship first. The Justicar frowns and lifts me anyway, I reach out to Kaidan as I float past him, missing his hand by inches. I land on my back with a thud when the Normandy jerks away further from the ramp and sends us flying to the side swiftly. We regain our footing and I rush towards Kaidan. He lunges towards the ship, catching my hand and the edge of the opening in the other. I feel strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me back further into the Normandy.  
Suddenly, the whole sidewall that held the elevator and ramp itself explodes and sends the carnage hurtling towards us. A large column whirls in our path and breaks our grip as the steel cylinder smashes against the ships' exterior. Kaidan clings to the column and is rocketed a fair way from me. The whirling black hole is visible to everyone now. Like a cyclone, it spins and gathers anything and anyone into its dark and dangerous center. It's the only thing I can see now. It must have swallowed the whole docking bay and the waiting areas too. I could feel the Normandy bending against the force, creaking loudly as the steel is morphed by the vortex.

"No, let me go!" I shriek, biotics surging through my veins while I try to escape Zaeed's grip to get to Kaidan. The column he's hanging onto suddenly succumbs to the force behind it, crumbling away and hurdling towards the black hole, taking Kaidan with it. Then, the Normandy's ramp closes shut swiftly, and promptly leaves the Citadel in a blur. For a moment I'm speechless, until I feel the arms around me loosen and I send Zaeed across the room in a swirl of blue biotics, ending with a loud grunt and a clanking sound when he hit the wall.  
"Shepard!" He growls at me, rubbing his shoulder that made contact with the Normandy's frame. I ignore the man, and I get cold stares from Garrus and Samara before I pace up towards the elevator. In a state of shock, I accidently press three buttons instead of the one for my old cabin. I end up in the Crew Deck. Walking silently out, my face is void of any emotion as I see a large group of my old crew sitting at the various tables.  
"Shepard! Long time no see." An engineer approaches me, bringing the whole group with her. _Not in the mood for this._ I put on a fake smile and try to chat for a while with everyone. I get hugged by multiple people who haven't seen me in person since the Reaper War. I glance over to see Dr. Chakwas tending to a sleeping patient sprawled across a bed.  
"Hey commander. Where to?" Joker voices in over the comm. Link.  
"Commander?" Everyone glances at each other. "Anywhere you want, Joker. We'll catch up later guys, promise." Sighing, I make my way to the elevator again. Once I reach deck 1, I enter my old cabin and throw myself on the small leather couch. I start up my omni-tool and open my messages.  
338 Unread Messages.  
_What the hell?_ I scroll through the messages one by one, skimming their contents. Most of them were from people I didn't know, asking about the Citadel and what happened. I stop scrolling and swap to extranet chat. _Emails can wait._ Signing in, I get flooded with instant messages from random online people who somehow got my details. Why do I even have this chat? Feeling like a tech-savvy teenager again, I reluctantly respond to some before I open the link to Kaidan's omni-tool. If he really is gone, I don't know what I'll do. Being on the Normandy again is unsettling as it is. The day after the celebrations of the no longer existing Reaper threat, I had sworn to myself and every person I lost that I would never step back into the position of Commander. I'm not up to it now. I'm out of shape, alone and albeit a lot more of a coward lately. I won't give up on him until I see a body. Until I know for certain.  
I stare at his name for a long while before noticing my mother linking me.  
0213 H: Did you make it out ok?  
0214 S: Yeah. Where are you?  
0214 H: Omega. Everyone else ok?  
My thoughts engulf me once again as I involuntarily remember everything that happened. I didn't want to discuss it to my mother, though. I wonder why she's in Omega. It's no place for a fragile woman.  
0216 H: Still there?  
0217 S: Not everyone. Can we meet? I'll come by Omega tomorrow.  
0217 H: Can't wait.  
0217 H: User Hannah Shepard has disconnected.  
I ask Joker to head towards Omega before exhaustion demands before I pass out on the couch, slipping into uneasy nightmares in the process.


	2. Back In The Game

**::AN: Small, uneventful chapter. The next will be more exciting, promise! ;)::**

I step out of the Normandy in tight black jeans and my N7 jacket. My hair was pulled into a messy bun that felt like it was loosening every second. The dusty docking port of Omega irritates my nose while I head for Afterlife to see my mother. Zaeed follows me in his usual field armor. I ignore his comical expression as I pace through the crowd and into the bar. We were greeted with the loud music and harsh rave lights Afterlife often supported. I skim the place until I spot my mother seated at an isolated table in a corner beside a table of gossiping female Turians.  
She shoots up and covers me in a tight hug that made me short of breath. Why is everyone doing this? "I was so worried when I saw the news!" She shakily said to me. She guided me into the booth opposite of hers. Zaeed followed and lounged next to me, earning a cautious glare from my mother. I hesitate, knowing what she's thinking behind that stare. "Mom, this is Zaeed. He helped me with the Reapers."The woman glanced between the two of us and muttered something I didn't catch.  
The mercenary nods and leans over me, a little too close for comfort. "Damn right I did."  
"Where's Kaidan?" She skimmed the crowds and the entrance to check if he was already here. I shot her a piercing look and attempted to stop tears from spawning, the expression itself probably gave away everything I was thinking. "Oh…" She trailed off, glancing down at the table. "Drinks?" She sprang towards the bar with a sigh before I could give an answer. Zaeed watched me from the corner of his eye until my mother returned with glasses filled with fizzing liquid.  
"Soda?" I grin for the first time today, asking my mother. More so at Zaeed, though, who was glaring at the drink in disgust. She smiles at me, morphing into a frown when she snatches the whiskey bottle Zaeed had grabbed from a nearby table, The mercenary lets out an angry grunt before leaving the table and disappearing out of sight.  
"Do you want to talk about it?" She gave me a sympathetic look as she keened forward and held my hands in hers.  
"Later." I manage to choke out, pulling my hands to rest in my lap. "I need you on the Normandy." Hannah looked like she was struggling to comprehend what I had stated. Can't blame her.  
She sat upright. "I'll be of no use on the ship. A liability." I don't want my fragile mother anywhere that wasn't near me. I'm the only one I can trust to protect her. Even then, I have my doubts. Anywhere was dangerous, prey to the merciless forces of nature. I wonder to myself why they only popped up now, five years after I sent the Reapers packing in my control.  
"You'll be emotional help to me." I shrugged.  
"Well, I suppose the safest place in the galaxy is in the gaze of Commander Shepard."She winks at me, and takes a sip of her red soda. Hannah notices Zaeed watching me at a table in the far corner, sipping an alcoholic beverage he probably bought in rebellion.  
"He has the eye for you, doesn't he?" She chuckles, glancing between me and the mercenary. I almost choke on my drink.  
"Mother." I warn. "It's been a day, can we not-"  
"I'm just making you aware." She says sarcastically. A mischievous smile erupts on her features. "Your father still wants to meet a man of yours."  
_Perfect. _Just perfect.  
I try to think of anything to change the subject." What are you doing on Omega anyway?"  
Another grin. "I had a… Date."  
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Who?"  
"A previous admiral of yours."  
_Hackett._ I stare blankly, unsure of whether to be shocked or laugh hysterically - or both. My omni-tool chimes. "The ship's leaving soon. We should go." I stand and link my arm with hers, pulling her out of the booth and eventually out of Afterlife. As we approach the bay, a small screen flickers to life on the wall and starts playing a live broadcast. An old man on a stage was speaking into a microphone at the audience. His glare then pierced the camera.  
"Commander Shepard." He pauses and skims the audience for effect. "On behalf of the Alliance, we'd like to invite you to a public interview that will be aired live across the galaxy."  
_Oh crap._  
"You will be sent a memo with the details. Dinner and entertainment will be supplied. So, bring a date." The guy winked at the camera oddly before the audience laughs. Why he couldn't have sent that in a private message instead of in front of a whole crowd was unsettling. When the screen fades, I drag Hannah onto the boarding ramp, Zaeed following our every step.  
***

How quickly things changed… The way the universe works, it's like survival of the fittest. Of course, it's always been that way, and I was the fittest. _Was_. The next morning, I lay on my icy white bed covers, fiddling with a model of the Citadel. The arms would open and close just like the real ship did. And every time they closed it reminded me of Sovereign, the first reaper to have gone down to my command. Then every machine after that. Now, our war is against the universe. How do we win such a thing without destroying all life as we know it?  
The door swiftly opens and Hannah strides through with cups in both her hands. "I brought some coffee," She states, placing one on the bedside table. I give a nod of approval and replace it with the ship model. "Your friends would love for you to come down and chat." She placed herself on the end of the bed.  
"They're… not my friends." I say hesitantly, taking a sip of the coffee.  
"But they're your crew, so you will. Get up." As quickly as she arrived, she exited the room. I stood and made my way to the elevator door. Before I could hit the button, the door swiveled open and revealed Joker holding a metallic box in both hands.  
"Hey, Shepard." He pushed past and limped to the couch down the two small steps. "I got you a present, I guess." He grinned and set the box on the glass coffee table. Surprised, I take a seat next to him and pull the shiny lid off the object. Blue and grey material met my eyes. I lift the object out and hold it up in front of me for inspection.  
"My old Alliance uniform?" I ask quizzically.  
"Yeah. When you left the military, the Alliance held your equipment because of its value or something like that." He shrugged. "The Normandy needs a commander, and I'd hate anyone that wasn't you commanding my ship." He leans back and folds his arms.  
"Joker, I can't be commander again…" I trail off as memories flash in my mind. He stays silent for a few seconds before he stands.  
"Yeah, I thought you'd say that. The black holes are coming whether or not you're the commander. But you're the only one I know that can stop them. With me at the controls, of course." The pilot shrugged and left me in silence.

After catching up with my old crew, Joker took us to pick up more alliances, old and new. Miranda, Tali, Jacob, and three new humans now took refuge on the Normandy. It feels just like the time I was hiring for the Collector mission. Looking back now, that seemed a hell of a lot easier than now. We made our way back to Omega to pick up Morinth who, against all odds, survived her encounter with Samara. The two Asari's were just getting into good standings with each other now, too.  
As I was making errand runs for supplies on Omega, a news feed surrounded by a group of staring people caught my attention. I step up behind them and listen. I realize it was my old reporter, the one who tried to make me seem evil at every chance she could.  
"Millions of lives were lost in an attack last week when the Citadel was overrun by what seems to be black holes. I'm Khalisah al-Jilani from Westerlund News bringing the latest galactic news to your doorstep. Today we have special guest, Morgan Chen, who's an expert on black holes and has studied them for over forty years. What can you tell us about this incident?"  
The human doctor straightened his posture and looked to al-Jilani. "To understand our situation, we must know that the holes are mostly formed by stars being destroyed. It is quite rare for holes to open in the span of two minutes, let alone in occupied space like the Citadel's system with seemingly no stars in its present company. However, I cannot say that this was a surprise for me."  
The reporters' eyebrows rise. "So you're saying you've expected this to happen?"  
He nods. "Quite frankly, when the reapers were sent back to their home world, it disturbed surrounding systems and created problems with the environment."  
"So we have Commander Shepard to blame for these innocent lives being lost?"  
"Well, no, we shouldn't-"  
"There we have it folks, the latest report on the Citadel attack brought to you by Westerlund News!"  
The viewers infront of me all turned at once. Gazes of fear, anger and disappointment fled to me from their glassy stares. _I knew you were bad news!_ A man shouts from the back, holding his fist into the air in anger. In that second I knew the old Commander Shepard had to come back. To stand up to the vortexes or stand up for myself, I didn't know. All I knew was my first mission - Bring an end to _Khalisah al-Jilani_.


End file.
